The kids are back

And don't they look like they had a blast?

Our trip

We had two sunny days - Monday when we drove to Sturbridge, MA and today when we returned to DE. We decided to get a jump on our trip and left Monday, stopped to see my grandmother. We then drove to a rest stop in CT, where I found a discount hotel book. I decided Sturbridge was the best place to stop. I even decided on Days Inn. We drove up, hubs didn't like the looks of it, so we headed to the Publick House. This was a cheap, decent place. We had a large room with cheesy wallpaper, a balcony and a king sized bed.



We took off Tuesday morning after an awesome breakfast. It was only an hour to Boston and we found the with minimal swearing. Surprisingly, they had a room for us, so we regrouped, discovered a tour of Fenway and took to the streets. We walked 7.6 miles that day. We hit Cheers, Boston Common, and the Public Gardens. We were so tired that we ordered room service for dinner.



It was overcast on Wednesday, but we skipped breakfast and headed to No Name for an early lunch. I ended up getting the lobster salad, which was the most lobster I've ever eaten in one sitting. The food was simple and good, the atmosphere non existent and the service impeccable. We rolled out of there and headed off to the Wharf. We got to the Aquarium before the skies opened up. At that point, it seemed the Duck tour would be our driest option. It wasn't. The roof leaked, but it was 1.5 hour tour of the history of Boston. Hubs slept through the land part, but was wide awake for the sea part. After it was over, we were soaked and freezing. The lightening made the decision for us - cab back to the hotel. After a nice rest, we headed back out for dinner in Little Italy. We chose La Prezza for the sole reason they had zuchini flowers on the menu. It was a great choice. We wandered back through the markets. Surprisingly there was no rain that night.





It rained all Thursday morning - a nice torrential downpour. We skipped breakfast and watched TV until lunchtime. We went to Zuma for lunch. It's a nice Tex Mex restaurant in Quincy Market. Since the rain stopped for a while, we wandered around, heard thunder and headed to the Aquarium. It's a small building on the wharf. I think the best part of the Aquarium was the penguin exhibit. They took up the whole first floor and were so cute! We then headed out for a nice Greek dinner with a stop for gelato in Little Italy.



This morning we woke up to sunshine. It was our only time to see all the buildings without the fog. We took a stroll one last time, took pictures, then hit the open air market for some great deals on produce. Our goal today was to hit Bartly's Burger Cottage in Cambridge. We navigated to Harvard Square, got a parking place, and found the restauruant. Apparently it's closed until July 8. At least the restaurant right next to it was good. We ate, got back on the road and I proceeded to backseat drive until CT when I took over the driving. It was a great trip and we're a bit sad to be home. The kids should be home tomorrow. We've missed them!

Boston Myths

I was told several things about Boston before we left.

1. Boston drivers are Massholes. I found this to be false. I had more issues with the idiots in Connecticut who couldn't drive 5 miles without running into one another.

2. There are only Duncan Donuts, no Starbucks in Boston. I found this false as well. I couldn't walk one block without running into a Starbucks. For every Duncan Donuts I saw, there were two Starbucks. Within a 1 block radius of our Hotel (Parker House at the corner of Tremont and School), there were four Starbucks.

3. Parking is impossible. Didn't even try to find out about this one. We parked the car on the first day and got it back this AM when we left.

4. A GPS doesn't work in Boston. I found this to be true. Damn Garmin doesn't work, doesn't recognize streets, and got us trapped in an alley when we tried to get to the hotel. I spent most of the ride home screaming at it because it wanted to take us over the George Washington Bridge. We wanted the far more scenic Tappen Zee bridge. Thank goodness for real live maps. And thank goodness it was a really nice, easy ride home.

Hortense hates the Red Sox

Instead of watching a game, we took a tour of Fenway. It was just over 2 miles from the hotel, and a really nice walk. Once there, we toured the public places, including the Green Monster, and then sat in the press box. I had the seat of the statistician. The coolest thing was seeing the two redtail hawks that fly around the stadium. As you can see in the last picture, hubs was subtle in showing his disdain for the Sox.

Boston Bound

In a few hours hubs and I are driving up to the Boston area. We've never explored Boston, so it's pretty exciting. We look forward to a lot of walking and some great meals. I should have a lot to blog about when we return.

Poison Ivy again

Hubs and I worked in the garden yesterday and I got exposed to poison ivy yet again. Although I showered and scrubbed within an hour of exposure, I still have a few rashes. Great - set the calendar for another 3 weeks. It's funny, I don't care about the poison ivy. I'm terrified of the erythema multiforme again. I don't want to go through that again. I dumped Round up on all the poison ivy I could find. I'm making some homemade weed killer next weekend to tackle what is still alive.

I am so sick of this reaction. I can't live cooped up in this house. I have been smart about avoiding the known areas while working in the garden. The cats get in it, come in and sit on my lap, the couches, our bed. I won't know if I get exposed that way until it's too late. What bothers me most is Hubs absolutely refuses to go near the stuff. I think it would be nice if he took one hit to protect me. I am out of sick days and can't even imagine what I will do now.

Real Men wear pink or nothing at all

I had the pleasure of walking with an every day hero today. I also had the pleasure of seeing this man naked. It was tastefully done, of course. I am talking about the 60-Mile Men.

I walked with Mr. August. His wife is a 23 year survivor. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. One dr. told her to get her affairs in order. The next dr. told her she had a 5% chance of survival with a new protocal. She survived. He walks and poses nude to raise even more money. Last year the 60-mile men raise $20,000 on calendars. Incredibly, they each still have to raise their $2,300 for each walk they enter. The $20,000 is dispensed to each member based on how many calendars they sell. They are issued checks made out to the 3 Day and hand them out to people who are having a hard time with the fundraising.

I wasn't able to get my signed calendar today, but I think I'll head on over to his store and get that, and maybe a T-shirt saying, "If you are going to stare at them, give me money to keep them healthy."

Camp Grandma Grandpa

The Devine Ms. Em


Trinks


The boys in the back

The kids left this AM and the house is so quiet. They are on their way to the Shenandoah Valley for a week of hiking, swimming and getting on my parents' nerves. And they are with their cousins, so my parents have five times the fun.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

This is my favorite cheesy 80s song. My mom wrote into the radio station and asked them to play it on the morning of my 13th birthday. She even set the radio up to tape the event. Somehow I never saw this video. Freaking hilarious

And I fully admit to taking this from a Facebook post.

Spare Change

I decided it was time to cash in my various change jars. I was hoping I had enough for a new pair of sneakers. I already wore off some of the tread of the ones I got in May. Hubs took my change to TD Bank and I ended up with $110. I have enough to buy my new sneakers and have $15 left over. Go me!!

S has a recital

S had a Tumblebus recital today. It was his first opportunity to perform in front of an audience. He was so excited and so proud of himself. He's a pretty good tumbler, too. We took Trinks out of camp to attend this 15 minute show. She almost missed her bowling trip to support her brother.

Good bye, Verizon. See you in hell

Except we're getting Fios in about 2 years, and we have Verizon Wireless phones, and we kept the absolute basic landline. It took me 30 minutes to cancel the phone yesterday with Ryan The Tool. I told him what I wanted. He tried to sell me stuff. Every option he tried to talk about, I interrupted him and repeated what I wanted. I grew weary of this game and demanded a manager at which point he gave me what I asked for, cursed me (in his head of course), and transferred me to the internet department. It was 5:55 and those lazy idiots already had their phones turned off. They are supposed to be there until 6! The online chat person Ratchit called me Mr before saying he couldn't help me. I had to call them today and use the world's worst Voice Response Unit before I could talk to a person. The machine did not accept "I HATE YOU" as a reason for cancelling. Thankfully Ms Wright saw no point in arguing with me and promptly closed my account. I thanked her and let her know she was way more helpful than Ryan The Tool.

Microwave resurrection

Hubs seems to have fixed the microwave. I'm still not 100% convinced it's fixed, but we have used it about 5 times with no more fires. I guess we don't have to find the money to replace it.

I must be a God damned genius, Gump

I set up the wifi all by myself. Let the screaming at Verizon begin!!!! This is faster than DSL!!! Love it!!!

Happy Father's Days

This article struck a nerve with me. I agree that Father's Day is the often forgotten holiday. Daycare rarely does anything special for the dads because so many kids are being raised by single mothers. It truly makes me sick that fathers are depicted as bumbling idiots on TV. They can't remember to put the lid on the blender, the wife comes in with a condescending smile and calls Stanley Steamer. The husband can't spend a day alone with the kids and fix a healthy meal for them. All he can do is lament, "Where is your mother?"

My husband cooks better than I can. He takes the kids to the grocery store. He can be alone with the kids for a week when I travel on business and they are well fed, emotionally well adjusted, and adequately rested. Do they miss me? Sure. But they can handle being home alone with Dad and having fun with him. His kind of fun is different from mine. He plays blast off with the kids. If I'm in the car for Blast off, I get nauseated. Bedtime includes learning lyrics to Rush songs. He lets them watch more TV than I do. The list goes on.

So what am I getting hubs for Fathers' Day? Today we went out to Iron Hill for lunch because we won't be home tomorrow. I tried to get hubs some sandals, but he can't seem to find "the right ones". We do have cards, so I guess that's going to have to suffice.

Thank you, Mythbusters

Mythbusters is a family favorite. The kids really get into the experiments and we end up talking about safety. Today we went out to lunch for Father's day and Trinks was happy to show off her dart gun, made with a straw and a toothpick. She proudly announced that she got the idea front Mybusters.

Trinks' first 5K

I dragged Trinks to a 5K walk to raise money to cure pediatric cancer. I knew she could do it, but wondered if she could do it without whining. She did great! We walked to support the B+ Foundation. That's not a grade, it's an attitude.

The rain threatened to drench us, but cleared in time for the start of the race. We took our time and I enjoyed seeing the sights in Wilmington from the street level. We were over by the zoo and had to climb Monkey Hill. The biggest challenge was walking past the monkey house - ugh! There was a horrible poop stench. Trinks spent the last mile splashing in puddles. We finished in good time, had some pizza, a pretzel, fruit and drinks. Then I threw a soaking wet Trinks in the car and came home.

Cooking and garden update

Last night I made these potatoes to accompany the steak and veggies hubby grilled. They came out great! I love this site. The next meal I tackle is spaghetti with tomato and basil. It's getting exciting to cook again.

Over the weekend, hubby went golfing and I took the kids out to look for a new microwave. I bought nothing until we reached Home Depot. They don't carry the microwave brand I want, so I went to the garden section and bought dill, eggplant, cucumbers and zucchini. Hubs and the kids hate zucchini, but I promised to make bread and use a bunch of the flowers in a pasta dish we discovered in Italy last year. Trinks wants to make pickles. I just want to have some dill so I can make some more spanakorizo. And eggplant is always great to grill.